Gaza death toll tops 85 as Israel presses its offensive

Published 5:50 pm, Thursday, July 10, 2014

Palestinians gather around car wreckage after an air strike in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza.

Palestinians gather around car wreckage after an air strike in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza.

Photo: Hatem Moussa, Associated Press

Gaza death toll tops 85 as Israel presses its offensive

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Khan Younis, Gaza Strip -- The Al Haj family never heard it coming: An Israeli missile smashed into their home in the middle of the night, destroying the structure and killing eight relatives in a matter of seconds. A survivor said all the dead were civilians.

As Israel intensified its bombardment Thursday of the Gaza Strip in an offensive against the Hamas militant group, with more than 900 targets attacked so far, it said it was doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties in the crowded urban landscape. The risk of more civilian deaths will remain high, especially if Israel moves in with ground forces.

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More than 85 people have been killed, including dozens of civilians, and more than 300 wounded since the offensive began Tuesday, Palestinian medical officials said.

Undeterred, Hamas militants have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, including salvos Thursday at the country's two largest cities, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, that were intercepted by the rocket-defense system known as the Iron Dome.

President Obama called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lent his support to Israel's efforts to defend itself from the rocket fire, but he also urged both Israel and the Palestinians to protect civilians and restore calm. The White House said the U.S. was willing to "facilitate a cessation of hostilities," potentially along the lines of a 2012 cease-fire that Egypt and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped broker.

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern about the threats to civilians in Israel and Gaza, and urged an immediate cease-fire.

"It is unacceptable for citizens on both sides to permanently live in fear of the next aerial attack," Ban said. "My paramount concern is the safety and well-being of all civilians, no matter where they are."

Ban has been a key player in diplomatic efforts to halt the hostilities. Egypt, historically a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, has said it is in touch with both sides.

Neither side has shown much interest in halting the fighting. With rockets continuing to fly, Israel has been massing forces along the Gaza border in preparation for a possible ground invasion.

Residents in the crowded Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza were at a loss to explain why the Al Haj family home was targeted in the attack. It was not clear who was the target of the air strike, or whether the family had been warned.